Silver Linings
by Wicked Pussycat
Summary: A series of long one shots. Some AU but certainly not all. Some heavy smut. Some unique situations.
1. Three's Company

**~This was just a little something a few friends prompted me to try. I don't know if anyone will actually enjoy reading it but I hope a few of you will like it. This is just going to be a series of one shots. Mostly Caryl. I can take requests if you would like but I wont put either of them with anyone else as far as actual sex goes, regardless of how it may seem during certain parts of this little story. This one is an AU but not all of them will be. It's a little heavy on the smut but nothing disgusting. Thank you for giving it a shot! Read on!~**

**I do not own The Walking Dead!**

~Threes Company~

Carol couldn't help but flinch a little bit. Ed was holding her hand in a very painful grip as he yanked open the door to the bar. They had been dating for exactly one month and she was beginning to realize that this was not going to work out. He was becoming a bit of a jerk and she was getting a little worried about his erratic behavior.

She hadn't heard anything from him in nearly a week due to an argument they had gotten into over the phone. He had demanded that she come to his house to see him but she had declined. She had already promised her mother that she would help out with a party that her mother had been planning for weeks. He had reacted badly, yelling at her and then hanging up on her. That wasn't the first time this had happened. He had been cruel to her on other occasions but she kept hoping that he would stop. They had so much fun at first. Now he mostly just scared her. But she had reluctantly agreed to come with him tonight. She thought that maybe he had already been drinking.

The bar was dimly lit and smelled heavily of stale beer and cigarette smoke. She had never been here before and wished she wasn't here now. It wasn't that she was some sort of prude because that wasn't the case at all. She simply wasn't used to places like this and as her eyes adjusted and she got a good look at some of the patrons she realized that she was most definitely not used to people like this. Ed had never struck her as the type of man that would enjoy a place like this. He was suppose to be a good man from an upper middle class family. The people in this bar looked scary to her. Men in leather jackets and women in barely there clothing were scattered about the large room.

She felt horribly out of place in her knee length white dress and simple sandals as Ed dragged her towards a table close to the jukebox. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face by a headband and barely fell to her shoulders. She glanced around, feeling even more self conscious when she realized that most of the women here had long blond hair. What was this place and why would he bring her here? She wanted to jerk her hand out of his grip and run out of this place but instead she sat down and glanced around with wide eyes. Ed let go of her hand and she rubbed it absently as she watched the people around her.

"You want a beer or somethin'?" He asked as he openly eyed one lady that was wearing a shirt cut so short that most of her breasts were exposed.

She shook her head and felt like crying when she realized how stupid she had been to let him talk her into this. After the way he had acted towards her on their last few dates she should have known better. He was obviously growing tired of her already and it hurt to think that two weeks ago she had let him talk her into having sex with him. She felt dirty for it now. She had never been with anyone before that and had only given in to him because he seemed so sincere when he told her that he really cared about her. It was just her luck that in church, sitting right next to her mother and father, their Pastor had started lecturing on sins of the flesh. As her parents nodded along she had shrank in her seat.

The whole experience had been miserable anyway. It hadn't been worth the guilt that she had felt after it was over. She had refused to do it again and he had been furious.

"What are you gonna do then? You just gonna sit there like your better than all these people and watch me drink?" He sneered, causing her to shrink back from him.

"Ed, I'm only nineteen. I shouldn't even be in here. They wont serve me alcohol." She said quietly causing him to glower at her. She was starting to feel afraid. He was acting more aggressive than he had ever acted before.

"I don't even know why I brought you here." he muttered as he looked at that same woman he had been looking at before.

She was usually a very calm person but she was getting angry. He didn't seem to be happy at all that he was here with her and she most definitely did not want to be in a place like this. She was about to stand up when he grabbed her wrists and forced her to settle back in her seat. He was hurting her as he glared into her eyes.

"You keep your ass right in that seat until I tell you otherwise, do you understand me?" He said in a voice so low only she could hear.

She winced at the grip that he had on her wrist but nodded. He let her wrist go and then looked up. He smiled widely at the waitress who winked at him and smiled back.

"What can I get for you, Ed?" She asked as she ignored Carol completely and leaned in on her arms so her cleavage was more visible.

"How about the usual?" He asked, still smiling.

She winked. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'm still on the clock. Ya want a drink instead?"

Carol felt sick to her stomach. How could she have fallen for his lies? Now she just had to sit here and watch as he made her look like an idiot in front of this woman. A woman that he seemed to know on a very personal level.

"Can't take a short break?" He asked the woman.

She glanced around for a few seconds and then nodded. She was still acting as though Carol were invisible. "I think I might be able to swing that. Give me five minutes."

He watched her walk away and then his cold eyes turned to Carol. "I'll be back. You don't move from this seat."

She swallowed hard. She had never seen that look in his eye before but it scared her. She nodded mutely so he hurried out of his seat and was heading towards the back of the bar. She had to blink away tears. She didn't think she had ever felt so stupid and betrayed in all her life. She considered leaving but from the way he was looking at her she thought he may come after her. It was dark and she was not very familiar with this part of town. What she did know of it, she was too afraid to walk the streets at night, completely alone.

She blinked back tears. The last thing she needed to do was get caught crying in this disgusting place. She was staring down at her hands when she felt eyes on her. She glanced up and her breath nearly caught in her throat when she saw a boy that looked to be around her age sitting a few tables away. When her eyes met his he looked away quickly, back towards the man that he was sitting with. She couldn't see the man's face since his back was to her. All she could see, other than the back of his head, was a leather vest and large sculpted arms.

She looked back down, feeling rather silly for the flush that she could feel coloring her cheeks. She glanced up once more and the boy was looking at her again, his blue eyes skittering away once more. He was beautiful. That was the only word that she could think of to describe him. She kept on studying his face while his attention was on the man across from him. When his gaze flashed back to her she was the one looking away, flushing even more at having been caught staring.

She silently wished that she had ordered herself a beer from the tramp that Ed was surely with right now. She had never drank before but she had also never been treated so badly by someone that she thought cared for her, at least a little bit, and she had never been in a place like this before.

She kept her head down but decided it wouldn't hurt to take one more peek at him. She raised her eyes, they met his again but this time he held hers. She couldn't look away. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly and then her view was obstructed by a blond waitress who leaned down, just like the girl Ed had ran off with, and sat two shots on the table. When the woman stepped away the boy was still looking right at her until he picked up the shot glass and turned it up.

All of a sudden the man across from him glanced over his shoulder and looked right at her. He grinned as his eyes raked over her. He was older than her by at least a few years. He may have been Ed's age. He was also extremely attractive, but in a much more rugged way than the boy. She felt ridiculous. Surely they were only looking at her because she was painfully out of place and didn't hold a candle to any of the other scantily clad women in the room. And she was sure that these two could have any one of them that they chose.

He turned back to face the boy, who was now wearing a frown and shaking his head. They were too far away for her to hear anything they were saying but, despite the boys obvious objections, the man stood up. He was tall and broad and smiling wickedly as he approached her table. With a shake of his head the boy followed after him.

Carol knew that her eyes had to have been terribly wide as she watched them. They stopped in front of the table, the mans eyebrows raised up a notch.

"Mind if we sit down?" He asked in a slow drawl.

She was about to tell them that she most certainly did mind. She was about to tell them that she was waiting on her boyfriend to return. "I don't mind." She said instead, in a voice so quiet that she was half surprised either of them had even heard her at all.

The boy, despite being the one that had kept staring at her, seemed as though he didn't want to be there at all but he pulled out a chair and sat down anyway, catching her eye briefly once more. He looked more curious than anything.

"You got a name, darlin'?" the man asked after a quick look at the boy.

She nodded. "Carol."

He studied her for a long moment, her eyes shifting between the two of them. "I'm Merle. Merle Dixon." He nodded towards the boy. "This is Daryl."

She took a deep calming breath, unsure why these two guys were talking to her. "It's nice to meet you." She said as politely as she could. She was getting nervous because if Ed came out and saw her talking to these men there would be hell to pay.

"I gotta ask. What the hell is a girl like you doin' in this dump?" Merle was giving her that same curious look that Daryl was giving her.

Of course that was why they were talking to her. Well, it was why Merle was talking to her. Daryl wasn't saying anything at all. She was just a curiosity to them. She should have realized that there was no genuine interest in her. She hadn't realized that she had actually wanted them to be interested in her in the first place. This thought startled her a little. She cleared her throat and looked down at her hands. "I came here with someone."

"Mind if I ask who?" Merle asked.

"Ed. Ed Peletier." She mumbled and then finally looked up to meet his eyes.

Suddenly Daryl's hand shot out and took hers, startling her into immobility. She wasn't sure what he was doing, not speaking a word to her and then grabbing her hand like that but she realized too late what he was looking at. There were angry red marks where Ed had gripped her wrists earlier. He brought her hand close to his face, so close that she could feel his breath caress her open palm. His face turned hard and he dropped her hand.

"So you're her." He muttered as he looked away. He almost looked embarrassed.

Merle was staring at the marks on her wrist now with an angry set to his lips.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, feeling a frown forming between her brows.

Merle settled back in his seat. "You're Ed's latest conquest, sweetheart."

Daryl saw her confused expression and decided he would be the one to elaborate. "Ed likes to go after the young ones. Good girls, like you. Then he cons them into lettin' him fuck'em. Then he moves on."

"Goddamn, little brother. Ya coulda broke it to her a little easier than that." Merle rolled his eyes and then chewed on the inside of his lip.

Carol couldn't believe what Daryl had just said to her. She felt sick to her stomach once more. Surely these men were lying. She wasn't stupid enough to fall for something like that. Not her. She was a smart girl and she wouldn't have fallen for it. But then she remembered how much Ed had changed since she had let him talk her into sleeping with him. He was cold and distant and sometimes, like tonight, even cruel to her. He was nothing like he had been when she had first met him. She felt her eyes fill with tears and tried desperately to blink them back.

"Hey now. None of that." Merle reached out and brushed the very tips of his fingers across her cheekbone. "I'll be right back." he said and then he was out of his chair and walking towards the bar, leaving her alone with Daryl.

He kept looking at the marks on her wrist so she moved her hands to her lap. She wouldn't cry. Well, she most certainly would cry, but she would wait until she was home and in her room. Then she would cry.

"Are you even old enough to be in here?" He asked suddenly, catching her off guard.

She looked around to see if anyone was in hearing range and then shook her head slightly. "Are you?" She asked. He certainly didn't look old enough to be here.

His lips twitched and he answered her with a slow shake of his head.

"I didn't think so." She said as she stared at the tabletop.

"That all he's done to ya?" Daryl asked, nodding towards her lap where her hands were clenched.

She looked at her wrist and then back up to his eyes. "Yes."

"You're lucky then. Ya best stay away from him before he hurts ya bad. He's done shit like that before. Comes in here braggin' all the time, least that's what Merle tells me."

She took another deep breath to try to calm herself and then decided to change the subject. She already guessed that he was capable of hurting someone but she had ignored it. She hadn't wanted to believe it. She had wanted to believe that he cared about her. "So you come here often?"

That crooked smile lightened his face briefly. "I live here."

She was really frowning now. "You live in a bar?" She asked as disbelief saturated her words.

He raised his eyes to the ceiling. "We got an apartment upstairs."

"Oh." She said, that made a lot more sense.

Merle returned, somehow cupping six shots in his large hands. A waitress followed him holding a pitcher of beer. He sat the shots down in the center of the small round table and flashed the waitress a smile as she sat the pitcher down next to them. He scooted two shots in front of her and then two in front of Daryl.

"Drink up kids. This shit ain't cheap." He inclined his head towards the shots in front of them. "Chop chop goddamn it." he sat down and downed his own quickly.

"I've never drank before." She mumbled, her embarrassment was clear in her voice, even she could hear it.

Merle just stared at her like she had grown a third eye or something. "You might as well drink'em." Daryl said as he picked up one of his own shots. "Either that or leave cause he ain't gonna shut up till ya do."

Merle nodded. "It's true. Besides, we gotta celebrate." he grabbed the three mugs that were sitting next to the pitcher and filled all of them.

"Celebrating?" Carol asked, still not touching either of her own shots.

"My baby brother here is finally legal." He grinned at Daryl who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I thought you weren't old enough to even be here." Carol asked in voice too low for anyone else to hear.

Merle laughed, a bit too loudly, several people turned to look towards the three of them. "He ain't." he winked. "But he's at least old enough to buy lottery tickets now."

Daryl just frowned and then downed a drink. He made a face and then slammed the glass down on the table.

"And we're celebratin' new friends. That's always good, right?" Merle held up the mug of beer.

She looked from Merle back to Daryl and then squared her shoulders. "You're right. I got dragged in here by a complete jerk and was left alone. You two at least saved me from looking like an idiot all this time." She held up the small glass and then mimicked what Daryl had done. And then she nearly spit it out. She coughed and sputtered something awful as the amber liquid set fire to her insides.

Merle actually looked worried for a second but eventually he just chuckled. "First time's always the hardest, darlin'."

Her eyes were watering by the time she was able to catch her breath again. She picked up the other shot, figuring that she may as well get it over with. She held it up and looked at Daryl. "Happy Birthday, Daryl Dixon." He smirked and then touched his own shot glass to hers. They both swallowed back the whiskey.

Merle had been right. It hadn't been as bad as the first. She felt the warmth in her stomach spread throughout her body. She wondered if that was normal. She did make a face that both men found to be quite hilarious. Merle scooted the mug of beer towards her.

"Should I maybe slow down?" She asked as she looked at the mug. She felt a little light headed.

Merle shrugged. "If ya want."

"Wont we get in trouble? Me and him, I mean?" She gestured towards Daryl with her head. She was starting to feel much better.

"You really ain't never been to a place like this have ya?" Merle asked as he took several long gulps of his beer.

Shaking her head she took a tentative sip and realized that it wasn't too bad. It was nothing like the bitter burning drinks she had tried first. The beer soothed the burn. She took a larger sip.

"What the hells goin' on here?"

Carol jumped in her seat, sloshing beer onto the table. Ed was towering over her glaring down.

"You might wanna take a step back from the girl Ed. Unless ya just wanna get your ass kicked by me again." Merle said with a calm look on his face.

Carol wasn't used to confrontation. The thought of violence made her uneasy since she grew up in a home with parents that never even raised their voices. She had been too sheltered. But when she glanced at Daryl and saw him watching Ed with a strange gleam in his eye, like he was hoping Ed would give him a reason to hurt him, nervousness wasn't her first reaction. She felt excited and it filled her with confusion and something else that she couldn't even name.

"She came here with me, Dixon. And now we're leavin'." Ed said angrily.

"She can leave if she wants but it ain't gonna be with you." Merle stated flatly.

She looked up at Ed and shrank away at the rage in his face. She unconsciously moved closer to Daryl who hadn't taken his eyes off of the enraged Ed once, until now. He shifted his eyes until they met hers and then they flicked down to the marks on her wrists.

With one last hard look Ed turned and then stormed off. She couldn't believe that he was just going to walk away without saying anything to her.

"I'm an idiot." She mused as she watched him storm out the door. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. She had thought it in her head and then it had slipped out. She took a few gulps of beer ad was a little surprised to see that her mug was empty. She must have been drinking it without realizing it.

"You ain't an idiot." Daryl said sullenly. "You just don't know trouble when ya see it." He looked at Merle as Merle topped off Carol's mug.

"Three more, Janet." Merle called out to one of the waitresses that were walking by.

"Sure thing, Merle." She called back over her shoulder.

Carol was beginning to feel pretty giddy. Here she was sitting in a bar. An actual bar. Drinking alcohol with two men that looked like them. And they seemed to like her. Well, Merle seemed to like her anyway. Daryl was mostly just very quiet. She wondered if this was his first time here also. "Have you been here before?" She asked, once again saying exactly what she was thinking.

"Merle dragged me down here." his voice was a little slurred.

She forced herself to look at Merle. "What did you drag him down here for?" She asked as the waitress sat three more shots down in front of them. Without hesitation Carol drank hers, making a face once more but not coughing and sputtering. She was proud of that.

"Because he's always up there and I'm always down here. Can't leave him up there on his Birthday, it ain't right. And I had plans. I was gonna try to get him laid. He's a picky little mother fucker though."

Carol felt like she should be offended by Merle's brash statement but she felt herself finding it rather funny so she laughed. This was absolutely fun. She never thought she would have such a fun time in a place like this but she was.

"You ain't gotta be picky to not wanna fuck one of these women." Daryl argued.

"I've fucked'em all. Nothin' too wrong with any of them." Merle grinned at her as she laughed once more.

Carol was feeling warm. Not just her skin but she felt warm inside. All this alcohol was making her hot. "Are you two hot?" She asked as she fanned her face with her hand. "It's burning up in here."

Merle and Daryl looked at her and then each other before laughing. Daryl pulled her mug out of her hands and then took a long drink. "I think you're drunk. You should slow down."

Merle slid his full mug towards her. "Boy, she's had a bad night. If she wants to get drunk with us let her. Hell, you've had too much yourself, don't see me tryna cut you off, do ya?"

"No I ain't." he slurred.

Carol found herself giggling as she took a few sips of Merle's beer. "You really might be Daryl." She said with a smile.

He sighed and crossed his arms. "I might be. But you're drunker than I am and you ain't had as much as me. He's been feedin' me alcohol since we got here."

Carol still felt too warm so she drank deeper from the mug of cold beer. That didn't help very much though. "Does this place have any air conditioning? Really, it's too warm in here." She looked up sharply when she thought of something. "Oh no!"

Daryl frowned. "What?"

"He was my ride home." Now she wasn't having any fun at all. She was almost certain that she was at least a little drunk and it was getting late and she had no way to get home. She would have to sleep in the ally. She would have to try to walk. She had lived here her whole life and had never seen a taxi cab. "I don't want to sleep in the ally." She nearly wailed.

Daryl swiped a hand over his face. "That's awful."

Merle just shook his head at the two of them. "Finish up, you two. I'm gittin bored."

"You're leaving?" Carol asked as she felt her eyes fill with tears. "You can't chase my ride away and then leave me down here all by myself!" She finally shut up when she lifted her mug and drained the remainder of it before setting it back down on the table.

"We're all three leavin'." Merle grinned at her.

"Oh." There was a voice in the back of her head telling her that this wasn't a very good idea. That she should call her parents to come pick her up. But another voice was telling her that these men were interesting and she wasn't ready to cut the night short. And besides, she would never be able to live down the shame. Her parents would be so disappointed in her. She was sure she was, indeed, drunk and that would most likely give her parents both a heart attack.

She followed the two of them towards the back where Ed had disappeared. Ed Peletier was a jerk. She thought bitterly. Even through the delightful haze of alcohol she was still embarrassed. He had used her and she had been stupid enough to let him.

When they were outside she stumbled a bit but Merle steadied her with a hand at her waist. She wasn't dizzy but she wasn't much in control of her motor skills. "You two must think I'm a real idiot, don't you?" She asked out of the blue.

Merle and Daryl led her to a door not far from the bars back entrance. Once they were through the door Merle was the one that spoke. "Why? Cause you let two strangers get ya drunk and then lead ya off alone to their apartment to do god only knows what to ya?" He chuckled.

She frowned and shook her head. "I didn't even think of that." She followed them to another door at the end of a hallway and this one opened up to a set of stairs. She looked up, wondering if there was an end to them at all. "You two think I'm an idiot because I fell for Ed's crap and I slept with him. I let him use me. And now that I think about it this is a little stupid of me. You two aren't trying to get me up their to kill me or anything are you?" She sounded oddly petulant. Like she wasn't processing that they could indeed be the sort of people who would do just that. She didn't know them.

"Look, if ya want I can call somebody that can give ya a lift home. Or you can use the phone down in the bar and call a ride yourself. Ain't nobody gonna do anything to ya that you don't wan'em too, ya understand? We might be a couple redneck assholes but we ain't killers and we ain't rapists."

She nodded and then she looked past him at Daryl who was hanging back, chewing his nail. When his eyes met hers she felt warmth flood her lower body. There was something about him that made her feel strange. "Well, if I wont get murdered or raped then lets go."

Merle took the lead and she followed him. She tried to be careful, paying close attention to each step but she made a misstep anyway and watched in what seemed like slow motion as the stairs rushed up towards her face. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain but a strong arm went around her waist from behind and she was suddenly pressed up against the front of Daryl's body.

"Jesus, girl. Ya just about broke your face." His voice rumbled next to her ear as his hand pressed flat against her stomach.

She swallowed hard, unsure why her heart had started beating so fast. "Sorry." She breathed. He slid his hand around to her hip.

"Go. I gotcha." he mumbled, giving her hip a little shove.

She started moving up the stairs once more, Merle was no longer in front of her so he must have already made it to the top. She stumbled one more time but he jerked her back against him again. Every time she felt him behind her the blood pounding in her veins seemed to pump fire into her lower abdomen. The sensation was foreign but not unpleasant.

When they finally made it to the top Merle was down the hall standing in front of a door with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face. She felt Daryl's hand drop from her hip. Merle opened the door for them and she was ushered into a small living room with a sagging couch sitting in the middle of it. The coffee table was littered with beer bottles and this made her brighten.

"Can I have a beer?" She asked with a smile. Beer was delicious and her mouth was so dry.

Merle looked between her and Daryl and then disappeared into the kitchen. Daryl glanced around nervously. "Ya wanna sit down or somethin'?" He asked.

She blinked and nodded slowly. "I really would." She whispered loudly. He laughed at her which caused her to frown as she sat down gracelessly on the couch. It was comfortable and she let her head sink back into the cushion. "Oh this is nice." She heard herself slur that time but she didn't care anymore.

"Hey!" Merle called from the kitchen.

She groaned. She really didn't want to get up. She wanted him to sit down with her but he didn't. He just stood there, looking around the room like he wasn't sure what to do.

"Y'all gonna come here, or what?" Merle called.

Carol groaned loudly and went to stand up but her legs weren't quite working. The couch was deep and she was having trouble. She felt ridiculous but there wasn't anything she could do about it. "I can't." She smiled up at Daryl and then laughed. "I'm stuck to your couch. You'll have to peel me off if you want me to go with you." She dissolved into a fit of giggles once more. She was having more fun being stuck to the couch than she had in a long time.

He laughed with her. Or maybe he was laughing at her, she wasn't sure. What she was suddenly sure of was how unbelievable he looked when he laughed. "You are incredibly good looking, Daryl." She blurted without thinking.

He blinked, still grinning and then ran a hand through his shaggy hair as he shook his head at her. "You don't need no more beer. Your drunk." He held out a hand and she took it. He was strong, pulling her right off the couch and almost making her stumbled into him. He caught her again. "Definitely drunk." he let her go and walked off towards the kitchen.

She followed, telling herself that she should not be staring at his ass as he walked away. But she couldn't not stare at his ass because it really was an incredible ass. She felt too warm again as she entered the kitchen.

"You gotta go on a beer run, little brother." Merle said as he shut the outdated fridge.

"The fuck do I gotta go on a beer run for?" Daryl grimaced.

"Cause." Merle grinned and then lifted up his pant leg. There was a black band strapped to his ankle with a black box attached with a green light blinking on it. "House arrest, remember?"

"Son of a bitch." Daryl groaned but held out his hand. Merle gave him some cash that he shoved into his front pocket.

"Wait a minute. How come you can buy beer when you only turned eighteen today?" Carol asked with a frown.

Merle smiled at her. "We got friends in low places, darlin'." he winked. "Daryl here can go on beer runs for me. The owner of the liquor store did some time with me a while back. No worries. He'll make it quick."

"I'll be back." Daryl muttered as he walked out.

She followed him with her eyes. She wished he hadn't had to leave. Surely they had beer around here somewhere. When he was out the door she finally looked back towards Merle. He was staring at her with a smile on his face and then he winked at her.

"You gotta thing for my baby brother, dontcha?" His smile turned into a large grin.

She snorted and then crossed her arms. "I don't even know him." She felt the floor tilt a little so she reached back and put her hands on the counter top to keep herself upright.

"He's got a bit of a thing for you." He said as he sat down in one of the padded kitchen chairs.

"He most certainly does not. Look at him. Look at those women down there and then look at me. Men like you two don't go for girls like me." She wasn't pouting or putting herself down. She was stating facts. She was pretty in a totally different way than those girls in the bar were pretty. She might very well have been drunk, however, that did not make her stupid or delusional.

"Oh, he's in to you, darlin'. I know my little brother. But he ain't gonna put the moves to ya. You gotta do that all on your own. And you," he blatantly raked his eyes over the entire length of her, "You're the type that men like me and him covet. Don't ever think any different."

She couldn't remember anyone ever looking at her the way he was looking at her now and it caused her heart to go into overdrive. Maybe she would be ashamed of herself in the morning when she remembered, but at the moment, she liked it. She liked the way he was looking at her and she liked that she could hear the honesty in his tone.

"You gonna go for him or what?" Merle asked once he looked back at her face.

She shook her head, feeling the blush creep up her cheeks. She couldn't begin to imagine ever doing something so bold.

"How come?" he narrowed his eyes a bit.

"I'm just..." She watched him stand up and walk towards her. He stopped only inches away.

"You're just what?" He asked, "Not that kind of girl? Not the type that would go after somethin' that she wants?" His voice was just a low rasp and something about it had her pressing herself further into the counter.

"I don't..." her voice trailed away once more.

He moved his body closer. "You don't? You never been with a man before, have ya?" with one finger he traced the line of her neck slowly.

"I've only been with Ed." She gasped a little when the finger ran down her neck to the top of the dress, running along the edge at the very top of her breasts.

"So, ya ain't never had a man." he stated. "You got used by some selfish child, darlin. And your too goddamn innocent to even know that your the one carryin' all the weapons. You gotta learn how to use'em. And once ya know how to use them weapons then you can be the one brakin' the hearts."

She held her breath when he dipped his head down and ran his tongue along the same line his finger had traced. This was insane! She didn't know this man and he was _tasting_ her skin like he owned it. So why did she feel like her insides were melting?

He pulled his head away. "You want my brother. What are ya gonna do about it?" He whispered.

She shook her head but her eyes never left his.

"You want me to stop?" he asked.

She shook her head again, feeling ashamed of herself but it was true. She didn't know what he was trying to do to her but he could keep doing it if he wanted. He smirked and then, to her astonishment he leaned down a little until she felt his hand on her inner thigh running it all the way up as he straightened up to his full height once more. He didn't stop until he was cupping her.

When she felt the pressure of his large palm against the center of her her breath exploded from her lungs and her hands went to his shoulders. His head dipped once again, tongue running hot and wet over her throat until he got to her ear. He tugged her earlobe gently with his teeth and then sucked lightly at the same time he ran his finger back and forth across her panties.

"You're already soaked, little girl." he hummed against the side of her neck. "And I know I ain't really the one that's got'cha drippin. You know it too, so what are you gonna do about that?" He moved his fingers over her gently until her head fell onto his shoulder.

Her head was spinning now and her body was throbbing. This was nothing like what had happened with Ed. Nothing he had done had felt good. This felt beyond good. Especially when he started rubbing back and forth a little harder, the heel rubbing against a part of her that was causing her legs to trembled.

"Anybody ever made you come, darlin'?" He rasped against her shoulder. He was breathing heavily himself now.

"I don't think so." she whispered. She knew no one had ever done what he was doing to her.

He chuckled. "You ever made yourself come?"

This shocked her a little. "What? No."

He growled then and removed his hand. She was frantic, fearing that he was finished. That wasn't all there was to this and she knew it. But she didn't have to panic for very long. He slipped his hand under her panties so now he was touching her, sliding his finger over her bare flesh. This was even better, this was much much better and she heard herself moan.

"Fuck." Merle ground out the word between clenched teeth as he cupped her once more and then, to her complete delight, slipped his middle finger inside her. He groaned as he buried his finger all the way down to the knuckle. "Oh that lucky little bastard." he breathed as he withdrew the finger, only to enter her again, slowly.

Between the invading finger and the pressure of his palm she thought she might pass out.

"What do you want?" Merle asked breathlessly.

Carol couldn't answer. There was an edge that she was about to go over as his finger curved slightly and moved in slow circles.

"Tell me that you're gonna go after what'cha want." He commanded in a growl.

Carol didn't know what to say as she clung to his shoulders. What did he want her to say? She wanted his brother but she didn't want him to stop. She guessed she wanted them both but she wanted his brother more. "Both." She finally said after he stopped moving his hand. "I want you both."

Merle's eyes darkened and he stepped away. "Damn it! He wont go for that."

Carol felt completely empty now, aching inside for some kind of release. She felt disgusting for what she had said because what she said was the truth. When she looked at Merle he looked torn and then she noticed that he was more than torn. His black jeans looked like they were going to split from the size of the erection that was pressing against them.

"You stay here, wait for him to get back. He'll be here any minute."

She gaped at him. He couldn't be serious. He couldn't leave her like this! There was no way someone could be that cruel. "You cant leave me like this!" She nearly shrieked.

His eyes cleared and he glanced towards the doorway into the living room and then back to her. He actually smirked. She knew that she was gaping at him still, mouth hanging open in shock. Her body was still humming, throbbing, pulsing. Every beat of her heart sent an anguish all the way down to the center of her. And he was going to walk out. Leave her like that. There was no way he would do that.

They heard the front door slam shut and then footsteps cross the living room floor. Carol closed her mouth then and tried to control her breathing. When Daryl walked in that throbbing in the center of her only intensified. Merle looked at him with wide eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Daryl asked as he sat a case of beer down on the table.

The sound of his voice ignited her blood even more. What the hell was going on with her body?

"Not a thing, little brother. I gotta go take care of somethin'. It's gonna take a while. You two have fun." He went to hurry out the kitchen doorway but he paused, flashing her an evil smile and glancing at Daryl. "Happy Birthday, Little brother." He winked at her and then was gone, leaving them both staring after him.

"The fuck was that all about? Why the hell did he have me go out for beer if the bastard was just gonna run off back to the bar?" he asked as he grabbed two beers and handed her one. Her breath caught as his fingers brushed hers.

She opened the can and then downed it, refusing to come up for air until it was empty. When she turned and sat the can down on the counter she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" He asked, looking concerned. "Did Merle say somethin' to ya or somethin'? I can kick his ass if he gets drunk enough."

He dropped his hand when she looked down at it. He was standing close. Not quite as close as his brother had been but close enough. She could feel the heat rolling off of his body. Her eyes zeroed in on his fingers that were curled around the can, long, graceful... _thick._

Her breath was coming to quick. She nodded and then stepped around him to get another beer.

He frowned and then took a long pull from the can before he said anything to her. "You sure?" He asked.

"Show me your room." She said quickly, not giving herself any time to contemplate the question.

He nearly spit out the drink he had just taken. "What?" He asked with a nervous laugh as he wiped the beer from his lips on the back of his hand.

She felt herself growing even more hot when she realized that he was nothing like his brother. He wasn't as self assured. Maybe he was as clueless as she was. "I want to see your room."

"Why?" He asked as his eyes darted away from hers.

"I just want to see it." she said in quiet voice.

He met her eyes again and she could have sworn he knew then. He could probably smell how bad she wanted him. He bit the inside of his lip and then finally he shrugged, finished off the beer and grabbed her hand. "Fuck it." he muttered.

He opened the door and was about to walk across the room where a lamp sat on a bed side table by the small bed. She took in the layout of the room from the light that came in from the living room. She stopped then and tightened her grip on his hand. He turned to face her, his expression unsure but she didn't give him anymore time to think than she gave herself. She placed one hand on the back of his head and then kissed him hungrily.

He grunted and took a step back but then he opened his mouth, his tongue meeting hers as his hands gripped her waist. Her shaking fingers were struggling with the top button of his shirt but then, with a frustrated sound she ripped his shirt open, her hands as greedy for him as Merle's had been for her.

"Jesus Christ." Daryl whispered as her mouth moved greedily to his chest, she could feel the hard length of him pressing between her hips and she squeezed her thighs together and shoved the shirt down his shoulders. He must have found this a good time to do something himself. He stepped away long enough to bunch up the hem of her skirt and then in one fluid motion, yanked it over her head and tossed it to the floor. It was the type of dress that you couldn't really pull off if you were wearing a bra so as soon as she was exposed his mouth went straight to her breasts, a growl rumbling low in his throat as his teeth grazed her nipple lightly. He was all tongue and teeth and she was gasping for breath. He slid her panties down her hips. She stepped out of them and was there, in a strangers room, completely naked.

She thought that he was going to be more hesitant than Merle but after he finally finished with his exploration of her breasts she gasped when he dropped to his knees on the floor in front of her and moved her back until the backs of her legs touched a low dresser. She had no idea what he was going to do until he pushed her until she was lifting herself onto the dresser with him still on his knees in front of her.

He opened her legs wide. Her body jerked when he actually slipped his tongue inside her. It was unbelievable. He kissed her there the exact same way he had kissed her mouth, tongue lashing in and out, hot wet and probing. With one long lick he traveled up further and then sucked greedily at the same spot Merle had been massaging with the heel of his hand. But this felt much different than what Merle had done with his hand. This was raw sensation, causing her body to jerk and twitch to the point where he was forcing her thighs from clamping around his head, holding them open by force as he sucked on that sensitive little bundle until she finally did explode, body and mind.

She clutched at his head, pulling it closer while she cried out, knowing she should try to quiet herself but finding it completely impossible to do so. He made a satisfied sound and the vibrations sent her even further over that edge he had brought her too.

With shaking hands she pushed his head away once she was spent. He nearly leapt up off the floor hands going straight to the button of his pants. That had been the most incredible thing that had ever happened to her but she needed more. Her whole body still screaming for more. Screaming for him.

She wasn't sure what to do. Did he want her on the bed or should she stay where she was. He answered for her when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her forward pushing himself inside her right there on the edge of the dresser.

"Jesus Christ..." He groaned into her ear. He hooked his hands under the crook of her knees, keeping her legs open as far as they would go. He hips moved slowly back and forth, gliding in and out of her at first as her arms snaked around his neck.

She was flying high once more as she clung to him, his pace growing faster and faster. Once his lips found hers again she lost it, moaning brokenly into his mouth, nails digging into his skin. He was driving into her harder now gasping for breath.

"Oh fuck," He whispered and then wrapped one strong arm around her waist as he groaned into her neck. She could feel him coming inside her, the heat from him filling her up. Vaguely she realized that maybe she should have taken some sort of precaution but not able to panic over something like that at the moment, especially when his lips were seeking hers out once more.

He eventually stopped kissing her and pulled out of her, adjusting the pants that he had been too eager to even take all the way off.

She slid off the dresser as he handed her the dress. She put it back on wordlessly, feeling like he surely thought she was some sort of slut. The guilt that she knew would eat at her tomorrow was rearing it's ugly head already. He handed her her panties with a smirk.

"I...um... I don't normally do that. I've never done that before, is what I mean." She said quietly still panting slightly.

He shook his head as he studied his buttonless shirt. "I didn't figure ya did. Merle said it didn't matter if you were like that or not. He'd make sure that if you was what I wanted he'd make it happen. Merle's a fuckin' dick like that."

Carol's head snapped up. "What?" She felt sick. "The two of you planned on bringing me here to sleep with me?"

He glanced up and shook his head. "Actually I was planning on hangin' out. Drinkin' some beer. Findin' out if you was some sort of snobby asshole, and then seein' if ya wanted to do somethin' sometime." He shrugged and went back to zipping his fly as she pulled her underwear back in place.

"Really?" She asked, a bit surprised at that but not all the way over the fact that Merle had completely manipulated her.

He nodded. "Yep. So?"

"So what?" She asked as he walked out of the room, her following close on his heels.

"Since we're done past that awkward first fuck faze, ya wanna hang out sometime?" He didn't look at her and she was glad. She wasn't very drunk anymore after everything that had happened and she was so embarrassed by the way she had thrown herself at him that she could very well die right there.

"Do we have to hang out at that bar?" She asked.

He glanced back over his shoulder and then stopped. "Nope. I hate that shit hole. Kinda glad I let him drag me there tonight though." He smirked.

She shook her head at the ridiculous chain of events that had brought her here tonight. "I'd like that."


	2. Hershey Bars and Ecstacy

**I wasn't expecting such a nice response to this little thing. All of you are so nice. This one is a little strange. There are drugs involved but do not fret because our favorite pair did not take anything intentionally. Neither of them ever would, I am sure. I wanted to figure out a way to really break down those walls of insecurities that Daryl and Carol have but I wasn't sure how. Then it came to me. And this is what I ended up with. It was fun to write. It had me thinking back to my younger years when I was an experimental delinquent. Anyway, it nearly gave me flashbacks ;) Any request? You can PM me. Thanks for all the reviews and likes!**

_**Hershey Bars and Ecstacy**_

Daryl couldn't believe their luck. It almost made him nervous that they had lucked out this way. It wasn't something he was used too at all. They had left the prison over a week ago. Tyreese was there and Daryl had to grudgingly admit that he was a good leader. The Woodbury group were in good hands with him at the wheel. It didn't mean that he liked the guy very much though because, honestly, he had been worried about how close the guy was getting to Carol.

He wasn't jealous or any crazy shit like that but he knew that Carol had been through a lot and she didn't need any more complications in her life. She had lost everything. She had lost more than the rest of them had. Sure, Rick had lost his wife and that had to have been a hard thing. Andrea had lost her sister. Hell, he had lost his own brother for a year. They had all faced loss. But Carol had lost a child and even though Daryl had no idea what it was like to be a parent, he could imagine it. A kid was something that was a piece of you. To lose that... well, Carol proved that you could move past it, but she was still haunted by it. It was up to him to look out for her and so, he had finally convinced Rick that the prison was overrun, not with walkers, but people. The damage it had sustained when the Governor had attacked made it impossible to expand deeper into it's depths. There were too many people there and everyone was living in the one cell block. It was too cramped. It was too hard to defend with so many others there. It would be more likely they would take a bullet from one of their own in the confines of the prison if something did go wrong.

He finally convinced their leader to go with him to look for something else. Anything else, really. And they had stumbled upon a fucking gold mine. A place that was virtually untouched other than the few walkers that they had found behind the stone wall that enclosed it. A large farmhouse sat in the middle of land that had been sealed behind a high stone wall and iron gate.

There were five walkers behind the wall. There was a man and a woman that they took out easily enough. The other three were a bit harder than that. One was a dark haired boy that looked a little like Carl and was about the same age. Another was a little girl a bit smaller than the boy but the last one. Jesus, the last one had been much harder than that. He was younger still, maybe three years old. They did what they had too though. A thorough sweep of the barns and the rest of the property found it clear. There was even a large pond that would keep them in fish for a long time. When they discovered the generator and the extra fuel they both, grown men, whooped with joy and damn near jumped up and down before hugging each other like school girls.

They found a note in the house. Apparently the parents had decided that their only hope was suicide rather than a slow painful death. They had all ingested mass quantities of medication and then they slept. Well, they slept for a little while anyway. It was sad but there was not even a small part of him that felt guilty for taking so much pleasure from these people's suffering. They had made a choice and opted out and now his people, his family, would be fed and protected because of it.

It was a farm but not the same kind Hershel had ran. They had grown crops so there were no animals to slaughter for food. That was okay though. There were plenty of woods that surrounded the stone wall on three sides so he could hunt. They would be just fine. The fireplaces in the house would be enough to keep the place bearable since it was damn near the dead of winter already. The cellar was filled with canned goods. Finding the place would probably go down into the record books for one of the best days of Daryl's life.

They had loaded up their group and got to work on securing the house right away. Him, Rick, Glen, Hershel, Merle, Carl, Beth, Michonne, Maggie, Carol and Andrea had made great progress. Every downstairs window wasn't only boarded, but damn near cemented shut. The back door was also sealed off. The only way in or out of the house on the first floor right through the front door and they were going to make sure that it stayed guarded. They weren't all too worried about the dead because it was the living that would pose a threat to this place. The dead couldn't get over the wall.

He was happy to say that they were done. The house was secure and now all they had to do was pick themselves up and start living again. Tonight would be their first night in the house and it was almost surreal considering everything they had been through. He almost wished they had some alcohol to celebrate.

"You and Officer Friendly really came through for us, little brother." Merle grinned wickedly as he slapped him on the back.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the man and frowned. "The hell are ya up too, Merle?" He asked suspiciously.

Merle looked offended. "What? Can't a man just be happy that he's got a roof over his head? Happy he's about to have food in his belly and a warm bed to curl up in? Come on now."

Daryl didn't trust him for a second. He loved his brother. There was no doubt in his mind that he loved him but he didn't trust the son of a bitch at the moment.

Carol chose that moment to stroll towards them, a smile on her face that seemed to light up the whole fucking yard even though it was damn near dusk. "What are you two standin' out here for? Don't you know there's food on the table?" She asked once she stopped a few feet away from them. She wrapped her arms around her skinny frame to try to block out the chill.

Merle bumped him with his shoulder and the three of them started towards the house. He watched Carol out of the corner of his eye and noticed that she was favoring that same shoulder that had been giving her trouble for so long. Without thinking he stopped her, ignoring the wink Merle shot him as he walked on by them. Sometimes Merle was a real asshole, he thought.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly as she searched his face in the quickly fading light.

He gestured towards her shoulder. "That still botherin' you?" He asked.

She smiled, shrugged and then winced.

He rolled his eyes. "Turn around." He grumbled, making sure she knew that this wasn't something he wanted to do. It didn't work because he caught that small smile as she turned.

Touching her didn't make him nervous the way it used too. He rubbed circles into the muscle there, knowing it wouldn't do a whole lot of good considering she was wearing layers of clothing. Maybe later when everyone was settled he could really get in there when she was out of most of those clothes...

He startled at the thought and then dropped his hands. What the hell was he thinking? He stepped away from her but there was really no need in that since she was already walking back towards the house. She looked over her shoulder, nodding a thanks, knowing words would be scoffed at. He nodded back and followed her.

When he walked into the house after her his stomach rumbled so loud she turned and stared at him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. The smell was intoxicating. He didn't even know what the hell he was smelling but it didn't matter. It smelled good. They made their way down a hallway lit only by a dim oil lamp to the kitchen that was much brighter. She stopped him in the doorway with a hand on his chest. He prided himself on the fact that he didn't even want to flinch away from it.

She leaned in close enough to make his heart speed up a little. He ignored it. "Don't stuff yourself to the brim. I found something in one of of the cabinets that I think you might like. If you don't get to full I'll share." She whispered.

She grinned and then walked away. He had to shake off the strange feeling that had overtaken him when he felt her warm breath hit his neck. He wasn't sure what that was all about but he ignored it. He'd been feeling all sorts of weird shit ever since the Woodbury people came. He would shake it off once they got settled in this place. Less people and less worries. He figured it was just stress.

When he stepped through the doorway he nearly had himself a heart attack. Carol pushed a plate into his hands. "Velveeta shells and cheese, Dixon. Merry Christmas." She grinned when he didn't even look for a place to sit down. He shoveled so much of the food into his mouth that he had a hard time chewing it. It had been so long since he had had something like this that he could have cried into his plate.

Everyone else seemed to be enjoying this unexpected treat as much as he was. Even Michonne was smiling. That was something you didn't see every day.

Merle was still acting strange. He was in too good of a mood. There was something definitely going on with him. He was chatting it up with Andrea now. After what he did for the group everyone was pretty chummy with him now. All it really did was get on Daryl's nerves. People shouldn't be so quick to trust his brother. He wasn't.

He finished up with his first bowl and passed up a second helping. When he glanced around the kitchen Carol was gone. His first reaction, always, was panic. After he... they had lost her that first time, and he had even dug her grave, he was ultra sensitive to her whereabouts. It took him a few painfully tense seconds to realize that she... they were safe here. He remembered her mentioning to Rick that her room was the smallest one at the end of the hall on the second floor. He didn't know why that had been any of Rick's fucking business but he didn't care. Not really.

He took off up the stairs, curious about what she could have found that she wanted to share with him. He couldn't help but worry a little about her shoulder still. He had seen some aspirins in Merle's room earlier when he had been helping him set his room up. So far Daryl was the only one without his own space. He wasn't too worried about it though because he had planned on sleeping right next to the front door. Anyone trying to come through would end up with a bolt between the eyes.

He ducked into Merle's room and went to open up the dresser that he'd seen him put the aspirin in. There were only five left but Merle wouldn't care. He grabbed two and shoved them in his pocket. His own back hurt from all the work they had done. He may as well take something for it while there was something there to take, as long as she didn't need both. If she did he would suffer through it.

He'd made his way around Merle's room in the moonlight but when he went back out into the hall he saw a soft glow coming from under the door of what must have been Carols room. It drew him like a beacon. He tapped on the door and waited. She opened it up a crack and peered out at him with one mischievous blue eye. He flinched when she flung the door open wider and pulled him in.

"What the hell, Carol?" He tried to growl at her but he couldn't stop the lopsided smile he felt on his face.

"Sit." She smiled and then bit her lip.

She was still wet. Rick had turned on the generators so they could shower. He hadn't been too worried about it at the time but he could smell some sort of flowery smell coming off of her skin, mixed in with just her own smell, that had always appealed to him for some reason. Now he was afraid that his grimy sweaty self would stink up her small room.

He sat down on the full sized mattress that was pushed up against the wall. He watched her, taking in how happy she looked. She had even scored some new clothes. The pants she had grabbed, obviously to sleep in, were form fitting in the hips and thighs but flared out a little just below the knee, when she turned around he saw how tight they hugged her ass as well and he forced his eyes to dart away, but not before he noticed that he couldn't make out any telltale panty lines from the quick glimpse.

He hadn't ever really noticed her ass before. But he'd never really seen her in clothes like that either. He was glad the rest of the bastards in the group hadn't caught a glimpse of her ass in those thin fucking pants. He realized that the shirt was just as bad. And he decided that dark purple was definitely her color, making her pale skin almost glow in the light from the lantern. No bra. He swallowed hard. He'd never noticed those either. Not really. But with the chill still in the air just about everything she had was on display, pushing against the thin fabric high up on her chest. Jesus fuckin Christ, why couldn't he stop staring at her tits? He pulled his knees up when she crawled across the mattress to sit in front of him.

"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue." That mischievous grin was back in place.

He shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

She laughed. "Please?" She raised her eyebrows and smirked at him. "I promise, you're gonna thank me for it in about three seconds."

"Last time a woman said somethin' like that to my brother he was on antibiotics for a fuckin' month."

She leaned closer. "Daryl, let me have my fun."

His eyes darted down to the view that low cut shirt was giving him and he closed his eyes and opened his mouth like a dumb ass. He wasn't sticking his tongue out. He didn't care if it was just Carol and he trusted her.

When he felt something press against his tongue his eyes opened quickly and he closed his mouth, his lips unintentionally wrapping around her finger.

If she felt the same jolt that he did as she slid her finger out of his mouth then she didn't show it.

"Don't just sit there. Chew." She laughed.

He obeyed, his eyes not leaving her face except to occasionally look down at the hint of cleavage that the shirt allowed to peak through. Once he realized what he was eating he chuckled.

"Chocolate?" He asked. He had to admit that it was a pleasant assault to his taste buds. It had been a long time since any of them had gotten their hands on anything like this. "You lured me into your room for chocolate?"

She held up the wrapper. "Not just chocolate. It's a Hershey bar. And this is like gold now days. Next time I'll just share with someone a little more appreciative." She winked, causing him to laugh and groan at the same time.

He really was glad she was willing to share. He reached out to grab another rectangle when she twisted away from him and stood up. "No more." She grinned.

"You had me come all the way up here for one piece?" He leaned his back against the wall and watched her. He didn't think he had ever seen her this happy before. If teasing him could make her smile like that then it was worth it.

"I'll give you more but you have to do something for me."

"A bribe?" He asked, one eyebrow raising sharply.

She nodded and turned around, walking towards the chest of drawers against the wall directly across from him. His eyes zeroed in on her ass once more. He really hoped that she didn't leave this room only wearing that. Merle and Rick would definitely be checking her out. For fucks sake,_ he_ couldn't keep from checking her out. She hid her stash in the top drawer and then turned around to face him again.

"Shower." She said, eyes narrowing.

"What?" he had to swallow hard again, was he drooling?

"You go wash the dirt off your face and then come back. We'll talk about me handing over more than one piece."

"You know if I really wanted it then all I'd have to do is come take it." He threatened. And he would have too, if he hadn't genuinely needed a fucking shower. He felt extra dirty next to her now.

"I ain't got no clothes." He grumbled as he pushed himself up off the mattress.

She pulled out another drawer. "I found you some. At least some that you can can sleep in. I don't think you'd be caught dead wearing them around the house though. Not that I would mind at all." She grinned and tossed him an armload of fabric.

He held up a pair of black flannel pajama pants with his thumb and forefinger, scowl in place. "You're fuckin' serious, ain't you?"

"I was gonna put them in your room but I wasn't sure which one was yours."

"Ain't got one." He mumbled as he stared dejectedly at the stupid looking pants. They did feel comfortable but how stupid would he look wearing them?

"Sleep with me."

"What?" He choked out that one word while his head came up to stare at her in disbelief. Just the thought of having to share a bed with her had his dick twitching in his pants. He held the clothes down in front of him. Jesus, what the hell was wrong with him all of a sudden? When he raked his eyes over her again knew what the hell was wrong with him. What if she moved around a lot in her sleep or something and he woke up to that secretly unbelievable ass pressed up against him.

Oh fuck.

"Daryl?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to share? I'm probably a lot quieter than Merle."

He looked down to make sure that the clothes he held in front of him were still blocking her view of his dick. A dick that clearly didn't seem to want to keep it's two cents out of this. If he listened to his dick then he'd be telling her that he knew that he could make her be a lot louder than Merle ever thought of getting.

"What the fuck?" He growled, still looking down, oblivious to the fact that he was asking his traitorous dick a direct question right in front of her.

"It was just a suggestion, Daryl. I wouldn't try to mount you in your sleep or anything." She rolled her eyes and turned back around.

He hadn't been talking to her. He had been talking to the traitor in his pants like some psycho. He needed that shower now. Needed a real long cold fucking shower to shock some sense back into himself.

"I'll be back." He grumbled. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"After you eat it." She smiled.

His eyes went wide and he gaped at her and then his gaze slid down, zeroed in on her crotch and then darted back up to her face again. "Eat it?" His mouth filled with saliva once more.

"Chocolate. Are you okay?" She was frowning now, clearly concerned because for some reason he had turned into a complete basket case.

He nodded and then bolted out of the room. Right before he was able to close the bathroom door he turned and saw her standing there. "You comin' ta watch or what?"

"Figured you'd need a little help. It's been a while." She was all smiles again.

He felt his nostrils flare as he tried to take in more air.

"Kidding. Just brought you a towel." her eyebrows raised.

He grunted his thanks and then darted into the bathroom. He could see well from the moonlight that filtered in through the frosted window. He looked at himself in the mirror. What the fuck was wrong with him? It had been over a year. He had been around this fucking woman for over a year now and never, not one time, had his body had this kind of fucked up reaction around her.

He quickly stripped off his clothes and turned on the water, making sure it was as cold as it could get. He hissed and then gasped for breath for a few moments while his body adjusted to the frosty onslaught of water. It did the trick. He'd be lucky if he ever saw his dick again after this frosty little jaunt.

He ran the rag under the icy water and looked around the tub for some soap. He picked up a bottle that looked promising and took a whiff.

So much for the cold water working. It was Carol's. She must have forgotten to take it with her when she got out. He tossed the bottle out of the shower and towards the sink where he had laid his borrowed clothes. Clothes he wasn't going to be caught dead in by anyone other than her. He found a sliver of a bar of soap and lathered up the rag, scrubbing himself down quickly. He figured he should wash his hair too since it was grown out now.

He toweled himself off quickly and picked up the stupid pants again, scowling and shaking his head. He grudgingly pulled them on and couldn't help but to appreciate how comfortable they were. Too bad she hadn't thought to snag him any fucking underwear. Tonight wasn't the night to be free balling but he really didn't have a choice. The shirt wasn't so bad. Just a plain ribbed tank top. Hell, he would have grabbed that for himself. Even with the fire places blazing the house was still chilly but he didn't mind it.

He hurried back to her room with his dirty clothes, boots and her soap in his hands. He didn't knock this time, just barged in like he owned the place. She was sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed

"Did you take a cold shower? Daryl, your teeth are chattering." She laughed at him and then her eyes raked over him. "Oh that's nice." She tried to hide her smile but it didn't work. She loved tormenting him. It was just something she thought was fun. He hated it.

"Shut up." He grumbled and then resumed his spot, back against the wall, his laundry in his lap. He handed her the bottle of soap. "Didn't figure ya wanted all them other women usin' up all your smelly good shit." He smirked.

She took it from him with that look in her eye. The look that told him that she was about to give him some sort of shit. "Daryl Dixon, are you saying you like the way I smell?"

He looked down at her hand that was wrapped around the bottle. Holding it the same way... "I'm sayin' it's a real step up from the funk I been smellin' all year."

Her mouth dropped and then she tried to hide a smile by chewing on her lower lip. He looked away again.

"That's funny. All those Woodbury women had a nickname for you. I wasn't gonna say anything cause I didn't want your feeling to get hurt." She ran her hand up and down the bottle absently.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, licking his lips before he looked up from her hand.

She nodded sadly. "They called you Dirty Daryl."

He bit his cheeks to keep from laughing. "Damn. That's almost as bad as all those Woodbury men callin' ya Cruddy Carol behind yours."

She laughed and then shoved his arm, wincing as she did, her hand going up to massage her tender shoulder. He remembered them then. The aspirins he'd gotten from Merle's room.

"That still botherin' ya?" He frowned and then sifted through the pockets of the pants that he still had clutched in his lap and produced the pills. He handed them to her.

She shook her head and plucked one from his palm. "I saw you. Your back is bothering you again. You take the other one."

She popped the pill into her mouth and then got up on her knees so she could reach the bottle of water that sat on the floor. Her ass was literally less than a foot away from his hand. She turned then and handed him the bottle after taking a few drinks.

He took it from her and swallowed down the pill. He tried not to think about the fact that her lips had been all over the top of that bottle. He decided then that the reason he was feeling all this weird shit was because they were in a safe place. They had food and water and protection. It was the safest he had felt since this had all began. This was a bigger score than even the prison had been so it was fucking with his head. It was making him feel much too comfortable and since he hadn't really noticed certain things about a certain person his mind was just pointing them out now because now he wasn't too worried about being eaten and keeping his group alive.

"You sure you want to sleep on the floor? With your back messed up again the bed would be a lot better. It's big." she bounced a little. "It's comfortable."

"Floors fine." He said once she stopped bouncing.

She just sighed, knowing it would be futile to argue with him. She tossed him a folded blanket and the only pillow. "Fine. Get out of my bed. I have a lot to do in the morning. I need some sleep."

He quickly arranged the blanket, wrapping himself up in half of it. He didn't know why he made his makeshift bed right next to the mattress. He didn't care. He closed his eyes, hoping that when he woke up in the morning all this weird shit would be over and he could focus on something other than fucking Carol. Literally. That was what this was all about. For some reason, on this strange night, he wanted to fuck Carol Peletier. And not just fuck her either. He wanted to fuck her stupid. Make the woman forget her own goddamn name.

He didn't know how long he had been laying there when he started feeling something strange come over him. He felt warm. More than warm really. He was completely burning up. He tossed the blanket off and sat up. The moonlight wasn't all that bright in the room but for some reason everything stood out vividly. The patterns on the wallpaper looked amazing. It was one of the most intricate and amazing things he had ever seen in his life. How the fuck had he not noticed it until now?

Sound to his left caught his attention and he slowly dragged his eyes off the wallpaper and looked at the source of the sound.

"Daryl. Something isn't right." Carol whispered.

The sound of her voice seemed to be a living thing, warm and solid as he felt it slide around the inside of his ear.

"I'm so fuckin' hot." he blurted, possibly a little too loudly since he heard the echo of his own voice.

She sat up, her head turning towards his voice. "Me too. I think the house must be on fire. Like, everything is burning up around us but it doesn't come in here for some reason."

He nodded and then stripped off his shirt and stood up abruptly. "Have you ever looked at this fuckin' wallpaper? Just look at it. Stare at it. I swear to fuckin' Christ it comes alive. It's unreal. I never even noticed."

She stood up too, his eyes focusing on her feminine shape in the shadows. "Daryl, I'm really hot. It's too hot."

"Let me see." he stepped right up onto the mattress and stood in front of her. "We need light. I swear to God I bet we could look at it if we wanted. Think about it. I bet we could _see_ the heat. If you think about it hard enough you kind of just know shit, ya know. It's like, your brain knows all kinds of fucked up secrets but your mouth is too fuckin' stupid to tell them. Do you _feel_ that?"

She walked right off the edge of the mattress and he could have sworn her feet didn't even hit the floor. He could see the outline of her body and then suddenly he could see her. She had lit the lantern. When she turned around he had moved, standing right there in front of her.

"Somethin' is going on here." He whispered. He couldn't take his eyes off of hers. Her pupils were huge, barely letting any of the blue iris show.

"Daryl, what kind of pills did we take?"

"What?" He whispered as his eyes slid down to her mouth.

"What kind of pills? What kind of pills did we take?" She asked, her voice getting louder.

He shrugged. "Some aspirin. Merle had some..."

"Daryl, that wasn't aspirin. That was something else. I think we took drugs. Real drugs."

He could detect the panic in her voice and he reached out and ran his hands up her arms. His lips parted as he took in a breath. "Carol?"

She had frozen at his touch, seeming to have forgotten about whatever it was she had been so worried about.

"You feel that?" He breathed as his hands slid back down her arms and then back up. He had never felt anything so soft before. Like she was made out of some kind of silk that the likes of him would never be able to afford to touch. When his hands moved back up they didn't stop at the top of her arms but traveled up her shoulders. "You feel so fuckin' good." he needed to feel more. He thought maybe if he didn't then he would die. And he didn't want to die. He wanted to crawl all the way inside her so he would know what she felt like all the way through. Her pale skin was glowing.

Daryl heard the door open but he couldn't look away from Carols face. Her tongue came out and licked her lips, his eyes following the movement and then focusing on the wetness that her tongue left in its wake. He had the overwhelming urge to lick it right off her bottom lip.

"What the fuck are you two doin'?" Merle asked as he shut the door behind him.

Daryl didn't want to look away from but he had too. When he saw Merle he had to squint. His brother wasn't as in focus as everything else was. When he turned he felt a timid hand touch his back. It felt better than anything he had ever felt before. Now that he thought about it, the floor under his feet felt better than anything he had ever felt before. Everything felt good.

"You two?" Merle's eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped. "You stole my shit?"

Daryl couldn't really focus on what Merle was saying. Whatever was touching his back was drawing strange patterns in his flesh that he was sure had some sort of deeper meaning if he could just focus. He shook his head. "What?"

"Did you go into my room earlier, little brother?" Merle asked. He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. I got us some aspirin."

Merle laughed. "Holy shit. Boy, you're fucked up, ain't'cha? The two of you are in for an interestin' night indeed."

"What?" Nothing Merle was saying was making any sense.

"You and Carol took ecstacy, little brother. Welcome to the party." He grinned. "Come on out from behind there, Carol."

Daryl tried to focus on Merle once more.

"Goddamn, woman. Look at that body you been hidin'." Merle's eyebrows shot up.

"That's exactly what the fuck I was thinkin'!" Daryl said as he let his eyes move down the length of her. She was standing in front of him now, coming out from behind him like Merle had told her to do. He watched his own hands reach out and press against her waist.

"Daryl, you two might not wanna do anything you'll end up regrettin' in the mornin'." Merle laughed but Daryl barely heard him. His fingers could make out each individual thread that the shirt was made of. He roamed down to her hips, squeezing gently and then pulling her backwards until she was pressed right up against his dick. Hadn't he just been arguing with his dick not long ago? It was pissing him off earlier. It was acting just fine now.

"You two got plenty of water? Y'all are gonna be like this for about six more hours. You could dehydrate." Merle said.

Daryl still wasn't paying any attention to Merle. Merle never knew what the hell he was talking about. "Why is it so fuckin' hot in here?" He said suddenly.

Carol nodded. "It really is. You know what's going on. Why is it so hot Merle?"

"You hot too?" Daryl asked.

"I'm burnin' up." Carol said quickly.

Daryl hated that she was so hot. There was something he could do for her, surely. The idea came to him quickly and he didn't hesitate after realizing the he could help her. Not just help her but help himself too because if he couldn't feel more of her soon he was going to lose his mind. He lifted the thin shirt up over her head.

"Holy shit." Merle muttered but Daryl wasn't interested in Merle. He did know exactly what Merle was looking at though.

"Their fuckin' great." Daryl grinned as he slid his hand slowly up her rib cage until he was cupping her in each hand, kneeding the soft flesh there. He heard her moan and then lean into him further. He bit his lip, letting his teeth drag across his own flesh.

"No. I can't be all fucked up with you two." Merle said quickly. Daryl looked up, Merle's pupils were as huge as Carol's had been.

"I'm gonna go get y'all some water and then I'm gonna have to go the fuck back to my room. I can't be in here while I'm all fucked up too. That wouldn't lead to nothin' good."

He was gone then. Daryl decided that was alright because there was a whole lot of shit that could keep him occupied other than Merle. He pressed his lips against the back of her neck. "You even taste good. You're fuckin' perfect." he whispered right before he ran his tongue down to the tip of her shoulder.

She spun around then, grabbing him by the hair and pulling his face towards hers viciously. There wasn't any hesitation as he kissed her back, almost moaning into her mouth. This was beyond perfect. How the fuck could so much shit be so perfect all at the same goddamn time? Her tongue was hot, wet and tasted unreal. He swirled his own around hers, making himself dizzy in the process.

He jerked when he felt her hand feeling him through his pants. She finally broke the kiss. The best kiss he'd ever had in his life, and stared at him with eyes that were dark and wide. "I want that. I've wanted that for a really long time." She did that thing again, where she smiled and bit her lip at the same time.

"Wanted what for a long time?" He panted. It was still too hot in the room, he could feel a thin sheen of sweat covering him.

She squeezed him hard. "That."

A laugh escaped him but it sounded more like a growl. He raised his hands up and clasped them behind his head. "It's all yours." he said.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that this shouldn't be happening. Not like this. Merle said they were fucked up. They were drugged. Tomorrow they wouldn't even be able to look each other in the eye. He wanted her, even when he wasn't like this, and she just said that she had wanted him too so really all this was was an ice break... "Oh fuck..."

He looked down, she had him freed, her hand wrapped around him, moving it slowly up the entire length of him.

_**XXX**_

Merle was glad they had all these bottles of water. He was stashing them in his bag when Rick walked in.

"Merle, what are you doin' with all those waters?"

Merle spun around and quickly walked past him. "Can't a man get thirsty?" He knew all Rick had to do was take one look at him and know that he was fucked up. How the hell did Merle Dixon get lucky enough to end up being stuck living in a house with a cop? Not that he had to worry about getting arrested but he would never hear the end of it if Rick discovered what Merle had found stashed away in the mattress in one of the cells back at the prison.

He was planning on taking his hit, laying back, jacking off, and then enjoy the rest of the ride. That was the beauty of mescaline. That shit made sure you had a good time while the other ingredients made sure you stayed awake long enough to enjoy it. Now his whole night was fucked. More than fucked. He was going to have to babysit the two most straight laced asshole out of the whole goddamn group. Two people so prudish that neither one of them would admit their_ feelings _for each other. Merle scoffed at the thought.

He got it. Whatever. Finding love in the muck of their lives and what not, but he never got what either one of them really saw in the other. Daryl was so goddamn awkward that even Merle himself stopped making jokes about him. Fumbling fidgeting fucker. And he was always covered in dirt. The guy could have his pick of pussy if he would just stop acting like he was afraid of it. Merle was almost sure the guy had never gotten himself any.

And then there was Carol. There wasn't anything wrong with her. She was pretty, he supposed, but he couldn't get the little timid thing from the quarry out of his head when he looked at her. Until now. With her face all smiling and shit and then Daryl, his very own shy as fuck baby brother, had pulled the little lady's shirt right up over her head. He had a new appreciation for the woman now. She'd been hiding all sorts of things under all them damn clothes. Her tits weren't as big as he normally liked them but they were sure pretty to look at. He shook that thought from his head as he bolted up the stairs. God, he hoped he wouldn't have to sit around and watch them fuck all night. He should kick there asses for ruining this for him.

When he got to the door he didn't hear anything on the other side. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. He took a deep breath and walked into the room, shutting the door quickly.

He was glad to see that they weren't fucking. Although the site of her standing there with no shirt on had him itching a little. Fuck it, he was just as fucked up as them. Well, maybe not, since he only took half a pill and their dumb asses had taken a whole one, but still. A show was a show.

When he realized what she was actually doing he felt his eyes widen. Daryl was looking down so Merle followed his gaze. He could tell what was going on just by the way her arm was moving. Jesus, this was going to get really bad, really quick.

_**XXX**_

Carol was vaguely worried about them. She knew that whatever they had taken was something bad. Bad because she knew that what she was doing was bad but she didn't care. She wanted to feel him in her hand. She wanted to feel everything, and if she thought about it hard enough, she actually could. The air had substance and taste. The floor under her feet was made up of so many different molecules that she was sure she could feel each individual one under her toes. It was incredible. It made her so happy that she could _feel_.

She looked up and searched his eyes but he was focused on her hand, so she looked down at it too just so she could try to imagine what it was he was feeling. He felt huge in her hand, _looked_ huge in her hand.

"Water break, you horny fuckers."

Carol looked over and there sat Merle Dixon, his back to the door and a smile on his face. Water really did sound good. She was about to head towards him when there was a swift knock at the door.

"Oh shit." Merle spat as he pushed himself up off the floor. He looked towards them with wide eyes. He picked something up off the floor and stormed over towards her and Daryl. Before she knew what he was doing he was tugging her shirt down over her head.

This caused her to laugh, much too loud.

"Jesus, Daryl, go sit down or somethin'." Merle groaned as he hurried to the door.

She figured Merle was right. Daryl and her had been standing there for hours. Or it felt like hours anyway. She pulled the pants back in place so she wouldn't be tempted to keep looking and moved him backwards until he was sitting on the mattress but he didn't let her go anywhere. He grabbed her hips and pulled her down, his hardness pressing into her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"What'd ya put that back on for?" He asked right before he kissed her. This was her new favorite thing to do. Every time his tongue slid against hers it was a new sensation. This was something she could do for hours. It was much better than standing there. Hours. Ours. She gasped and then pulled her face away from his.

"What's wrong?" He asked, glancing around the room.

"We own time, Daryl." She said, feeling so thrilled that she had plucked this universal secret right out of thin air.

"We do?"

She nodded, grinning triumphantly. "Hours. We can do things for hours because time is ours. Do you understand? I can't explain it right."

She knew when he finally got it. This thrilled her even more. His eyes grew wide as he looked at her. "Holy shit, Carol. That's so fuckin' crazy. Hours is ours." She had never seen him this happy before. She had never seen him smile so much.

"What the hell was it, Merle!"

They both turned their heads at a new voice. An angry voice. There stood an angry looking Michonne. She was looking from Merle to them and then back again.

"I feel like my brain is going a hundred miles an hour and everything is freaking me out." Michonne said frantically as she paced.

"I didn't tell any of you assholes to go through my shit." Merle said calmly. He reached out and stopped her from pacing. "You and these two over here, your in for a long night, might as well stay and watch the show."

Carol frowned and was about to say something but Daryl was forcing her face back to his. When his mouth found hers this time he kissed her harder then before. There was a new eagerness to it and she moaned when he gripped her roughly by the hips and moved her over him, stimulating things that didn't even need anymore stimulating.

She heard Merle sigh. "Fuck this. Come on, girl. Let's go back to my room and wait it out."

Daryl started tugging her shirt back up over head before she even heard the door shut. As soon as it was over head she felt his lips on her skin. She sucked in a breath when his teeth clamped down on her nipple and tugged lightly. She closed her eyes so she could focus. She could see, in her minds eye, the electricity traveling from her nerve endings to her brain. He changed tactics, sucking instead of biting. His hands were still on her hips moving her back and forth against his shaft when she suddenly realized something. The pressure of him against her, the thin material of the pants she was wearing and the rhythm with which he moved her was all to much.

"I think I'm gonna come..." She whispered.

He moved her faster, sucked on her harder, and she felt it building, growing, expanding and then exploding. She gasped before crying out. This wasn't like anything she'd felt before. This was crawling all over her skin and pulsing almost painfully through her body. He pulled his face away from her chest and then grinned at her.

"I can feel that." He breathed, eyes wide and a little awed.

It was suddenly gone as quickly as it had come but her whole body was buzzing now. Every inch of her tingling.

**_XXX_**

He had to fuck her. He hadn't ever felt like this before but he'd also never had some woman like her sliding back and forth over his dick and then actually come. And she came fucking hard. He could feel it throbbing against him. He'd never had much confidence in himself when it came to women. But she had came all over his dick and he hadn't even put in her yet. That had to mean something. He wasn't the smartest man in the world but he was smart enough to know that this was something different.

Her eyes were huge when they finally opened again. She scurried off of him and before he even knew what she was doing she was on her knees between his legs, shoving him hard in the chest until finally he was lying back, leaning up on his elbows and watching as she was tearing the pants down his legs. She was like a starving person. She took him into her mouth and he let his head fall back for a few seconds.

Her mouth was hot. So fucking hot and she took all of him that she could until he felt the back of her throat. His head snapped back up and he watched in fascination as she brought her head back up and then down again. He didn't think anything had ever felt so good. Her tongue circled his head lazily and suddenly his whole body was tingling. Every cell inside him vibrating and humming, making the feel of her hot mouth on him that much more intense.

He didn't want her to stop but eventually she did. He thought he saw the ceiling dip down as he took in a breath and then blow back up again as he exhaled. This caused him to squint up at the ceiling suspiciously before flicking his gaze back down to her. She was still kneeling there between his legs, he was still standing at full attention. "Take off your pants." He said quickly, suddenly feeling the overwhelming urge to be inside of her.

She looked down like she was shocked that her pants were still there. She stood up quickly and tugged them off, he was still propped up on his elbows, watching her eyes closely. "What do you want me to do now?" She asked as her eyes raked across him. Without waiting for him to answer she climbed right up on top of him. That tingling sensation was intensifying.

"Do you feel that?" He asked as his hands went to her waist.

She nodded enthusiastically, positioned herself over him and then sank down slowly. His eyes rolled back into his head and his breath exploded from him loudly as his hips jerked up, forcing himself deeper inside of her. He had to sit up, had to feel himself pressed against every part of her. He was pretty sure he was experiencing sensory overload as she rocked her body in an agonizing rhythm. He slid his hands up her back, sliding along a sheen of sweat that coated her skin. There was something about the dampness on her skin that had his mind spinning. Her hands on him had shock waves running all over his body as they traveled up his chest, over his shoulders and then up his neck.

His blunt nails dug into her back when he felt her start to tremble once more. That hot pulsing started deep inside and he couldn't just sit there anymore. He locked his arm around her and took her to the floor, barely breaking rhythm, they hit the floor with a thump but she didn't seem to notice when his eyes met hers. She was so close, so close he could taste it. He slammed into her then, hard and steady, moving faster than she had been moving, deeper now than before.

She was stretched around him tightly as it was but he could feel her tighten even more, sucking him in deeper as wet heat poured over him causing him to shudder with the pleasure of it as she writhed under him, his name like a mantra ripping out of her mouth. He was going to come with her. Felt it building and building until he was gasping for breath. He poured into her as she clamped around him again and again, the force of it stunning him, sending the room spinning and every exhale leaving his throat with a rough growling sound.

That had to have been the most pleasure he had ever felt in his whole miserable life. And still he wasn't sated. He should have been but he just kept moving, she was wetter now, soaked. It felt like he had to have filled her up with his release. But he was still as hard as a rock, and she was begging him for more with her eyes. He eased out of her and reached for one of the stray bottles that Merle had removed from his bag. He drained the whole thing and then grabbed another, twisting the cap and handing it to her. She raised up just enough to drink half of hers down.

He poured another bottle over his head, washing away most of the sweat and then shaking the excess out of his hair, causing her to laugh.

"Roll over." He said suddenly, noticing how hoarse his voice was.

She obeyed with an eager grin and then a gasp as he gripped her by the hips and yanked her onto her knees, plunging into her again from behind. This new position was bringing her to the brink much faster than he thought he could. This angle gave him better access, more freedom to move around. He wasn't sure how long he lasted but after she came again and again another orgasm, just as mind numbing as the first, tore through him. He was spent after that.

Neither of them thought of putting their clothes back on since Carol was still pretty certain that the house was on fire. He even opened the window, which helped a lot. He knew that daylight was quickly approaching before they crawled under the sheet. The blanket proved to be too hot but the sheet brought on a whole new round of sensations as it slid over their skin, the tingling was going away but the cool smoothness of the sheet still felt amazing. Amazing enough that he had to pull her back on top of him. This time he just laced his fingers above his head and watched her. She was un-fucking-believable. Every movement she made was fluid and graceful. Fucking beautiful.

_**XXX**_

Cold. That was his first thought. He was fucking freezing. At least the back of him was freezing. The front was warm. His arms were wrapped around something warm and soft and... breathing? He tensed, his eyes snapping open.

He was staring at the back of Carol's head. That was who his arm was wrapped around and he was actually cupping one of her breasts. She was naked. The events from the night before slammed into him with the force of a truck, knocking him stupid for a few seconds. Those fucking pills. The overwhelming heat filling the room.

Oh God!

The image of her mouth wrapped around his dick. Her mouth. Jesus, he had fucked her. He didn't just fuck her either, he had fucked her all night. Well, even that wasn't accurate. She had fucked him too. Either way, they had done it. He wanted to run. He wanted to run right out of the room, scale the wall, take off into the woods and never have to look her in the eye again. He should have kept his head about him. He shouldn't have given her the fucking pill. She probably hated him now. She probably thought that he had given it to her on purpose like some kind of sick freak.

And why was he still holding her like that? He moved his hand off of her breast, sliding it down, grinding his teeth together when he felt her nipple harden under his calloused touch. He stopped when he reached her ribcage.

"Daryl?" She whispered, causing him to tense.

He couldn't tell if she sounded mad or not. His heart was knocking against his ribs. He had to say something. She had to have felt his racing heart since it was pressed right against her back.

"Yeah?" He croaked and then winced. He was such a fucking idiot.

"Tell me you aren't mad." She whispered.

He frowned. Was she serious? Did she really think that he would be mad at her for all of the shit they had done? Now he thought maybe that she was the one that was a fucking idiot. "I ain't mad." What the fuck was wrong with his goddamn voice?

Her hand moved up, covering his, sliding her fingers between his own. This was good. This was a good thing. He didn't know what he should do though. What did she want? What the fuck did this make them now? Would she want him?

"What now? Do we go ahead and pretend like none of that happened?" She asked in another whisper.

"What do you want?" He asked. He didn't want that at all. He had wanted her for a long time. She was the only person that really understood him. The only person he had ever found himself actually wanting to be with. He was about to move away from her, taking her silence as confirmation to all of his fears.

"Just you." She said, a little louder. "Is that alright?"

He let go of the breath he had been holding and nodded until he realized that she couldn't see him. "Yeah." He said in a hoarse whisper of his own.

"You do know that we probably kept the whole house awake. They probably know everything that happened. Can you live with that?"

He groaned and then, without thinking, buried his face into her shoulder. It felt good, natural. "I can if you can. I ain't got much choice." he decided that they had already done just about everything there was to do, so he took a risk and touched his lips to her shoulder. He was rewarded for the gesture. She moved his hand back up to where it had been before.

Fuck it.

He kissed her neck, smiling to himself when he felt her shift and then actually roll over. Yeah, he could live with the rest of them knowing. She pulled his head down, her lips hesitant against his at first, nothing like she had been the night before. He felt like they were doing everything backwards. He didn't mind though. Especially when she eagerly opened her legs for him when he rolled over onto her. He could definitely get used to waking up to this every morning.

"Remind me to thank your brother." She whispered as his lips moved down her jaw.

He growled in response. The last thing he wanted to think about when he was kissing her was his dumb as shit brother. Even though, secretly, he wouldn't mind thanking him himself.


End file.
